H. R. 6—292 ‘‘(B) PAYMENT.—Any company against which the Administrator assesses costs under this paragraph shall pay such costs. ‘‘(2) DEPOSIT OF FUNDS.—Funds collected under this section shall be deposited in the account for salaries and expenses of the Administration. ‘‘SEC. 394. MISCELLANEOUS. ‘‘To the extent such procedures are not inconsistent with the requirements of this part, the Administrator may take such action as set forth in sections 309, 311, 312, and 314 and an officer, director, employee, agent, or other participant in the management or conduct of the affairs of a Renewable Fuel Capital Investment company shall be subject to the requirements of such sections. ‘‘SEC. 395. REMOVAL OR SUSPENSION OF DIRECTORS OR OFFICERS. ‘‘Using the procedures for removing or suspending a director or an officer of a licensee set forth in section 313 (to the extent such procedures are not inconsistent with the requirements of this part), the Administrator may remove or suspend any director or officer of any Renewable Fuel Capital Investment company. ‘‘SEC. 396. REGULATIONS. ‘‘The Administrator may issue such regulations as the Adminis- trator determines necessary to carry out the provisions of this part in accordance with its purposes. ‘‘SEC. 397. AUTHORIZATIONS OF APPROPRIATIONS. ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—Subject to the availability of appropriations, the Administrator is authorized to make $15,000,000 in operational assistance grants under section 389 for each of fiscal years 2008 and 2009. ‘‘(b) FUNDS COLLECTED FOR EXAMINATIONS.—Funds deposited under section 393(c)(2) are authorized to be appropriated only for the costs of examinations under section 393 and for the costs of other oversight activities with respect to the program established under this part. ‘‘SEC. 398. TERMINATION. ‘‘The program under this part shall terminate at the end of the second full fiscal year after the date that the Administrator establishes the program under this part.’’. SEC. 1208. STUDY AND REPORT. The Administrator of the Small Business Administration shall conduct a study of the Renewable Fuel Capital Investment Program under part C of title III of the Small Business Investment Act of 1958, as added by this Act. Not later than 3 years after the date of enactment of this Act, the Administrator shall complete the study under this section and submit to Congress a report regarding the results of the study. TITLE XIII—SMART GRID SEC. 1301. STATEMENT OF POLICY ON MODERNIZATION OF ELEC- TRICITY GRID. It is the policy of the United States to support the moderniza- tion of the Nation’s electricity transmission and distribution system H. R. 6—293 to maintain a reliable and secure electricity infrastructure that can meet future demand growth and to achieve each of the following, which together characterize a Smart Grid: (1) Increased use of digital information and controls tech- nology to improve reliability, security, and efficiency of the electric grid. (2) Dynamic optimization of grid operations and resources, with full cyber-security. (3) Deployment and integration of distributed resources and generation, including renewable resources. (4) Development and incorporation of demand response, demand-side resources, and energy-efficiency resources. (5) Deployment of ‘‘smart’’ technologies (real-time, auto- mated, interactive technologies that optimize the physical oper- ation of appliances and consumer devices) for metering, commu- nications concerning grid operations and status, and distribu- tion automation. (6) Integration of ‘‘smart’’ appliances and consumer devices. (7) Deployment and integration of advanced electricity stor- age and peak-shaving technologies, including plug-in electric and hybrid electric vehicles, and thermal-storage air condi- tioning. (8) Provision to consumers of timely information and control options. (9) Development of standards for communication and inter- operability of appliances and equipment connected to the elec- tric grid, including the infrastructure serving the grid. (10) Identification and lowering of unreasonable or unneces- sary barriers to adoption of smart grid technologies, practices, and services. SEC. 1302. SMART GRID SYSTEM REPORT. The Secretary, acting through the Assistant Secretary of the Office of Electricity Delivery and Energy Reliability (referred to in this section as the ‘‘OEDER’’) and through the Smart Grid Task Force established in section 1303, shall, after consulting with any interested individual or entity as appropriate, no later than 1 year after enactment, and every 2 years thereafter, report to Congress concerning the status of smart grid deployments nation- wide and any regulatory or government barriers to continued deployment. The report shall provide the current status and pros- pects of smart grid development, including information on tech- nology penetration, communications network capabilities, costs, and obstacles. It may include recommendations for State and Federal policies or actions helpful to facilitate the transition to a smart grid. To the extent appropriate, it should take a regional perspec- tive. In preparing this report, the Secretary shall solicit advice and contributions from the Smart Grid Advisory Committee created in section 1303; from other involved Federal agencies including but not limited to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (‘‘Commission’’), the National Institute of Standards and Technology (‘‘Institute’’), and the Department of Homeland Security; and from other stakeholder groups not already represented on the Smart Grid Advisory Committee. SEC. 1303. SMART GRID ADVISORY COMMITTEE AND SMART GRID TASK FORCE. (a) SMART GRID ADVISORY COMMITTEE.— H. R. 6—294 (1) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Secretary shall establish, within 90 days of enactment of this Part, a Smart Grid Advisory Committee (either as an independent entity or as a designated sub-part of a larger advisory committee on electricity matters). The Smart Grid Advisory Committee shall include eight or more members appointed by the Secretary who have sufficient experience and expertise to represent the full range of smart grid technologies and services, to represent both private and non-Federal public sector stakeholders. One member shall be appointed by the Secretary to Chair the Smart Grid Advisory Committee. (2) MISSION.—The mission of the Smart Grid Advisory Com- mittee shall be to advise the Secretary, the Assistant Secretary, and other relevant Federal officials concerning the development of smart grid technologies, the progress of a national transition to the use of smart-grid technologies and services, the evolution of widely-accepted technical and practical standards and proto- cols to allow interoperability and inter-communication among smart-grid capable devices, and the optimum means of using Federal incentive authority to encourage such progress. (3) APPLICABILITY OF FEDERAL ADVISORY COMMITTEE ACT.— The Federal Advisory Committee Act (5 U.S.C. App.) shall apply to the Smart Grid Advisory Committee. (b) SMART GRID TASK FORCE.— (1) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Assistant Secretary of the Office of Electricity Delivery and Energy Reliability shall establish, within 90 days of enactment of this Part, a Smart Grid Task Force composed of designated employees from the various divi- sions of that office who have responsibilities related to the transition to smart-grid technologies and practices. The Assist- ant Secretary or his designee shall be identified as the Director of the Smart Grid Task Force. The Chairman of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission and the Director of the National Institute of Standards and Technology shall each designate at least one employee to participate on the Smart Grid Task Force. Other members may come from other agencies at the invitation of the Assistant Secretary or the nomination of the head of such other agency. The Smart Grid Task Force shall, without disrupting the work of the Divisions or Offices from which its members are drawn, provide an identifiable Federal entity to embody the Federal role in the national transition toward development and use of smart grid technologies. (2) MISSION.—The mission of the Smart Grid Task Force shall be to insure awareness, coordination and integration of the diverse activities of the Office and elsewhere in the Federal Government related to smart-grid technologies and practices, including but not limited to: smart grid research and develop- ment; development of widely accepted smart-grid standards and protocols; the relationship of smart-grid technologies and practices to electric utility regulation; the relationship of smart- grid technologies and practices to infrastructure development, system reliability and security; and the relationship of smart- grid technologies and practices to other facets of electricity supply, demand, transmission, distribution, and policy. The Smart Grid Task Force shall collaborate with the Smart Grid Advisory Committee and other Federal agencies and offices. H. R. 6—295 The Smart Grid Task Force shall meet at the call of its Director as necessary to accomplish its mission. (c) AUTHORIZATION.—There are authorized to be appropriated for the purposes of this section such sums as are necessary to the Secretary to support the operations of the Smart Grid Advisory Committee and Smart Grid Task Force for each of fiscal years 2008 through 2020. SEC. 1304. SMART GRID TECHNOLOGY RESEARCH, DEVELOPMENT, AND DEMONSTRATION. (a) POWER GRID DIGITAL INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY.—The Sec- retary, in consultation with the Federal Energy Regulatory